Round Top Figure 8

On Saturday, February 25th I was prepared to go out for a short walk for a third day in a row. The sun was out and the temperatures by late morning were pushing into the 60’s. I asked Cindy if she wanted to go across the street and hike on Round Top and she agreed. We were both trying to recover from a cold that had plagued her for several weeks. We decided to head across the street to Round Top with Sheila around 11:00 AM. I decided to forego the pack since most of the snow was gone and what was left behind wasn’t very pretty. I did not put on a baselayer and wore a lighter Columbia long-sleeved shirt under a light windbreaker. My Nytro boots were wet from the previous days slog around Hodge and Frick Ponds and I didn’t really need the insulation nay way. I put on my Keen Glarus boots and decided not to wear gaiters. Cindy and I both grabbed a set of poles but knew we would not need snowshoes or spikes. I put Sheila on her leash and started out the driveway and across the street. We crossed the street and walked through the field to the base of the cemetery hill. There was very little snow in the field which early in the week had at least 10 inches. There was some snow behind the church but the cemetery hill was showing only pavement. We began the ascent of the steepest hill which is short but really gets the circulation pumping! When we got to the top of the hill, we turned left and entered the woods. I noticed there was NO snow on the trail and very little in the woods. At the first trail junction Sheila headed straight and up the hill to the lookout so I decide to follow. The hill had no snow at all and it looked like a summer day! When we got to the top, I took a quick look at town and then continued to follow the trail as it turned right and continued through the woods. There was no snow on the trail in this location. It was clear that the higher temperatures and direct sunlight had eliminated almost all the snow.

We continued to follow the trail as it made a sharp right turn and headed around Round Top. The north side of the hill had a few small patches of snow and ice but none were of any significance. At the next sharp right turn, we turned left and followed the green ribbons marking the proposed upper trail to the summit. There was almost no snow on this part of the trail. At the summit we continued following the green ribbons as they led downhill and back to the main lower trail. There were a few slippery spots along the way but the decent went smoothly for the most part. At the main trail we turned left and followed the lower trail to the sharp right turn where we headed right. We walked down the trail to the woods road and stopped at the first trail junction. We had walked a figure 8 and this was all Cindy wanted to do. I considered doing at least another figure 8 until a few drops of rain hit my face. The forecast was for rain and violent thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening so I decided I would walk back to the house with Cindy. We turned left and walked the trail out to the trailhead. We turned right and walked down the cemetery hill to the back of the church. From here we crossed the field and walked back to our driveway. We walked back to the house after walking about 1.5 miles in a little less than an hour.